How Things Work: A Brief History of Reality
BOOK II: The Power of Three (Science & Religion) – Consideration #80. "Biblical Duality & The Fall of Mankind"
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Tuesday April 25, 2023
The fall of man did not introduce evil; it placed us on the wrong side of it, under its rule, needing rescue.
– N.D. Wilson
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
Aristotle divided the duality of empiricism and rationalism into the categories of physics and metaphysics. Rene Descartes divided the duality of empiricism and rationalism into the categories of body and mind. Albert Einstein divided the duality of empiricism and rationalism into the categories of matter and energy. The Judeo-Christian tradition divides the duality of empiricism and rationalism into the categories commonly known as The Old Testament and The New Testament.
“God, and The Law as given by God, represent that eternal and immortal Leviathan.”
The first half of the Bible, or Old Testament, expresses an empirical consideration and understanding of human nature and reality. It is focused on actions taken in the empirical world and the consequences resulting from those actions; in one sense reflecting Hobbes view that human beings are essentially evil, and need a strong, authoritarian, “Leviathan” to keep them in line. God, and The Law as given by God, represent that eternal and immortal Leviathan.
The Old Testament tells the story of bringing “Mankind” back from the depravity of dualism to an “empirical” level of “righteousness” through “The Law” as the first step in renewing the unity of God and Mankind as originally intended in the Garden of Eden.
The recognition of dualism leads to the recognition of good and evil, leading to a distinction between better and worse. Resulting in the first recorded murder, and an even greater fall into depravity for God’s greatest “empirical” creation. The “sin” or “separation” between God and Mankind eventually becomes so great that God regrets creating them; and considers completely eradicating them from the empirical world of reality, the Earth.
CONSIDERATION #80 – Biblical Duality: The Fall of “Mankind”
If you doubt the empirical nature of the Old Testament, consider the following “empirical description” of Eden as given in Genesis:
“A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.”
– Genesis 2:10-14
This is not the description of a hypothetical rational dimension such as Plato’s “Realm of Forms,” it is a step-by-step empirical textual map of a “real” physical location, including references to specific places we still recognize today, such as the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It not only talks about the “lands” those rivers flow through, but it also describes the lands themselves, “The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.” According to the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was a “real” place as described in Genesis.
Empirical actions result in empirical consequences. This is the first lesson learned after attaining the consciousness of duality. Each of the entities involved in breaking “God’s law,” suffer consequences from their actions, based on their “personal” responsibility, starting with the “serpent”:
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life…”Genesis 3:14
Next, authority and hierarchy are established as part of this new duality. Because of Eve’s “bad judgement” she becomes subject to her husband’s decisions, and therefore dependent on his authority; indicating that this was not the case prior to her personal decision to eat the forbidden fruit. Therefore, it is not an inherent aspect of nature, or the empirical world. Essentially making it a consequence of “action” as opposed to a consequence of “gender.”
In addition, women would endure greater physical pain when bringing new life into the empirical world. Again indicating that this was not previously the case. Suggesting that “human beings” were not as empirical as they had “become” after deciding to eat the forbidden fruit.
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”Genesis 3:16
Adam, however, is the one held most responsible by God. Adam, not Eve or the Serpent, is considered the essential factor in the “fall of Mankind.” God “directly” spoke to Adam, commanding “him” not to eat the forbidden fruit. Eve may have directly dishonored Adam, by disobeying his proclamation not to eat the fruit; but Adam had directly dishonored God.
Therefore, “man” is subjected to the earth itself, now having to “struggle against it” in order to survive. More importantly, it is because of Adam’s actions that “death enters the world,” fulfilling God’s proclamation, or Law, that anyone eating the forbidden fruit would die. From a Biblical perspective, Adam is directly responsible for bringing death into the empirical world of “mankind.” Therefore transforming “mankind” from an essentially spiritual being, into a completely empirical, or physical, being. Inherently introducing physical “pain” and “suffering” into their experience of Reality.
“Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”Genesis 3:17-1
Although Adam and Eve did not immediately die after eating from the tree as suggested by the serpent; the world had changed. Human beings were now subject to a difficult birth, a life of work and suffering, pain was now the most common experience in life; all leading only to an eventual death. The essential consequence of transforming God’s rational perfection into physical, or empirical reality, was time. The consequence of time; was death. With the possibility of death comes the possibility of murder.
The first murder recorded in the Bible occurs when the eldest son of Adam, Cain, kills his younger brother, Abel, because of jealousy; a possibility arising from duality. Essentially, Cain perceives that God appreciated Abel’s offering more than his; making Abel’s offering a “good” sacrifice and Cain’s offering, therefore, a “bad” sacrifice.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Genesis 4:3-5
God questions Cain’s anger, encouraging him to learn from the experience and do better next time. Here, God points out the nature of “sin” in the world and encourages Cain not to be overpowered by it.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 4:6-7
However, Cain’s anger, resulting from the dualism of his brother’s sacrifice, does overpower his reason, and he ignores God’s warning to overcome sin by remaining in control and doing the right thing.
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Genesis 4:8
God questions Cain about what happened to his brother, Abel, leading to one of the most famous responses in the Bible.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”
Genesis 4:9-10
Ironically, the penalty for the first murder is not death. It is banishment, and a curse.
“Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Genesis 4:11-12
Cain was no longer able to work the fields and produce food. The earth, or nature, had completely turned against him. He becomes the first “nomad” or wanderer. To reinforce that God had no intention of implementing a death sentence for Cain’s offences, “He” places a “mark” upon Cain designed to prevent anyone from killing him. Anyone who killed Cain would be subject to a curse seven times worse than the curse of Cain.
Here, it is also suggested, that as part of the curse, Cain will no longer have any access to God. Cain loses any opportunity for establishing a relationship with the divine Spirit of the Creator.
Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Genesis 4:13-16
Once again, we are told the specific place Cain was banished to after leaving the Garden of Eden; to the land of “Nod, east of Eden.” The “Generations of Adam” are not descended from either of his first two sons; Abel, who was murdered by Cain, or by Cain, his “first born,” because of Cain’s “sin.” However, Adam and Eve have a third son, Seth, through which the next step of the Biblical narrative unfolds.
Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.
Genesis 4:25-26
According to the Biblical record, Adam is 130 years old when Seth is born. However, it is recorded that Adam lived 930 years before his death. Seth is recorded to have lived 912 years. We follow the long lineage from Adam, through Seth, eventually to Enoch who, “walked faithfully with God.” The lineage from Enoch continues through Methuselah, Lamech, and then to Noah. The time from Adam to Noah represents 1,656 years of meticulous Biblical history; complete with names, numbers, and places.
This is where the story continues with the next critical plot point, the Great Flood.
POSTSCRIPT
Biblical records, along with other records indicating even longer lifespans, such as the Sumerian Ancient List of Kings and China’s Eight Immortals, in addition to anecdotal historical records, all suggest that longer lifespans may have been more common in the ancient pre-recorded past.
“In ancient China, super-centenarians were also commonplace, according to many texts. Joseph P. Hou, Ph.D., acupuncturist, wrote in his book “Healthy Longevity Techniques”: “According to Chinese medical records, a doctor named Cuie Wenze of the Qin dynasty lived to be 300 years old. Gee Yule of the later Han dynasty lived to be 280 years old. A high ranking Taoist master monk, Hui Zhao, lived to be 290 years old…”
– Tara Maclsaac, Did Ancient People Really Have Lifespans Longer Than 200 Years?
One argument is that the way we count years today is not the way they counted years in the past. This may be true, however, in many cases the Biblical references are generally considered to be the “most” accurate:
“Not only are the biblical ages by far more reasonable, what is notable, again, is the accuracy. Biblical ages are given to the nearest year. The above ages from other ‘sacred’ texts are given to at least the nearest 100 years. The careful biblical precision is clearly evident and supports the fact that these ages were not arbitrarily picked out of thin air.”
Christopher Eames – Biblical Longevity of the First Humans
Whether these records reflect an accurate representation of past longevity is not currently verifiable. However, if true, lifespans began to drastically diminish after an event known as the “Great Flood.”
It is interesting to note that within the first three chapters of Genesis the seeds of consideration related to the Age of Reason and Enlightenment philosophy have already been sown. John Locke’s concept of “Natural Rights” and Thomas Hobbes’ concept of an all-powerful “Leviathan,” become manifested through an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Being, or “Authority,” called God. For Locke, it represents the authority responsible for endowing human beings with their natural “inalienable” rights as established in the Declaration of Independence. For Hobbes, it represents the divine proof of the necessity for an unlimited source of Power and Authority as a means for maintaining order and stability through unquestionable sovereignty.
“Empirical rulers, what Hobbes calls Leviathans, oversee the general population…”
A foundational aspect of this story is that there is order, and a level of hierarchy, in the empirical world. In Western terms, God and the rational world are above the empirical physical world. Within the empirical world, human beings represent the highest level of life. Empirical rulers, what Hobbes calls Leviathans, oversee the general population; making societies possible. However, and most importantly, everything, and everyone, in empirical reality, despite their position in the empirical hierarchy, are equally bound by the same “laws” of God, or Nature.
In terms of empirical hierarchy, we see a similar structure outlined in Taoism:
Therefore, "Tao is great;
Heaven is great;
Earth is great;
The king is also great."
These are the four great powers of the universe,
And the king is one of them.Man follows Earth.
Earth follows heaven.
Heaven follows the Tao.
Tao follows what is natural.– Tao Te Ching #25
What is ironic, is that the “God” depicted in the beginning of Genesis is really not that much of an “authoritarian” God at all. Essentially, “He” tells Adam and Eve they can do whatever they want to do with only “one” exception. Just one. And that is only because it would hurt them.
“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Genesis 2:16-17
However, breaking this one exception violates the “Law” of God, which inherently results in “empirical” consequences. If we consider this “law” of God to be instead a “law of nature,” such as gravity, it could be understood more as a “divine caution” as opposed to an “authoritarian threat.” We do not think of someone as authoritarian because they warn a suicide “jumper” that if they jump the law of gravity will manifest consequences. You do not splat when you hit the ground because God is angry with you; you splat because you broke the “law” of gravity.
“Despite the many possible theological interpretations that could be generated from this story, the empirical result of the narrative is that human beings lose their ‘natural’ unity with ‘God’…”
In this sense, breaking God’s commandment, or “law,” regarding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, may not have resulted in the “fall of Mankind” because of God’s “retribution,” but as a “natural” consequence inevitably resulting from taking such an action. Despite the many possible theological interpretations that could be generated from this story, the empirical result of the narrative is that human beings lose their “natural” connection, or unity, with “God” and begin to experience a divided world of “dualism” as reflected in their “new understanding” of Good and Evil. Unfortunately, as the narrative continues, human beings demonstrate a proclivity for choosing evil.
John Milton’s classic, “Paradise Lost,” is perhaps the West’s greatest literary work dealing with the Fall of Mankind. In a recent survey by the Folio Society the Bible was listed as the most influential book for dealing with “today’s” greatest issues and problems. Here is the list of the top ten most influential books as listed by the Folio Society:
Folio recently undertook a survey with YouGov looking at the most influential books of the moment – books which answer fundamental questions of human existence or highlight issues which we are dealing with in society today…
1. The Bible (37%)
2. The Origin Of Species, Charles Darwin (35%)
3. A Brief History Of Time, Stephen Hawking (17%)
4. Relativity, Albert Einstein (15%)
5. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell (14%)
6. Principia Mathematica, Isaac Newton (12%)
7. To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee (10%)
8. The Koran (9%)
9. The Wealth Of Nations, Adam Smith (7%)
10. The Double Helix, James Watson (6%)
– Folio Society (The most influential books of the moment)
Next week we consider the Biblical perspective regarding a world-wide cataclysmic event that has been verified by empirical scientific evidence and referenced in multiple historical records, the Great Flood…
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Book II – The Power of Three (Understanding Reality Through Science & Religion)
The once common assumption that human experience was a balance of physical and spiritual components was more and more becoming a choice: Do you believe in the “spiritual world” or the “real world?” Like the essential constituents of geometry and atoms, the underlying foundation for the experience of Christianity, the religion of the West, would also be based on a set of three abstractions: The Holy Trinity.
Science became the religion of the “real” world, and theology became the “science” of the spiritual world.
• How did the West expand the possibility of Dualism?
• What were the metaphysical foundations behind the Age of Science?
• What does Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity tell us about energy and matter?
• How did Einstein's General Theory of Relativity alter our perception of the universe?
• Why does the Bible have an "Old Testament" and a "New Testament?"
• Who was Abraham, and how did he become the Patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?
• How did the story of Moses change and influence Western culture?
• What was the essential message of Jesus' teaching in the Gospels?
• What is the mystery that transcends Physics and Metaphysics?